Six Month Celebration
by Breathesgirl
Summary: Sookie's been a vampire for six months now. What does she do to celebrate? Who does she celebrate with? Disclosure outtake. Two shot.
1. Chapter 1

"Sookie, Sookie, Sookie," Pam was shaking her head at her sister as she tried to help her pack for their weekend trip to New Orleans. "Surely you have better things to take with you than these," she held up a pair of cut off shorts between her thumb and index finger and crinkled her nose, "...things."

"Pam, I'll have you know that I did NOT have a lot of money before I was turned. When a pair of jeans wore out at the knee they were turned into cut offs, when a shirt wore out it was remade, turned into a rag, sewn into a quilt, something!

Just because my clothes aren't up to your snooty standards doesn't mean they aren't still serviceable!"

Pam tried to look offended, "snooty? Me? Whatever gave you that idea?"

"I've seen the way you dress, the way you sneer at my clothes. I've heard you laugh about the fangbanger's clothes. What is that if it's not snooty?"

"By definition snooty is showing disapproval to those of a lower class. I don't sneer because I think I am better than others. I sneer because, even if they are of a higher class they don't dress like it!

Some of those who work minimum wage jobs manage to dress better than most of the fangbangers I see every night!

It's not the clothes themselves, it's the quality of the clothing that bothers me. Why pay $25 for a pair of jeans you'll just have to replace again in six months when you can pay $50 or $100 and get better quality so they last longer?"

"Are you serious?

With what I earned before it took me nearly two years saving every tip and money from odd jobs to save the $500 I paid for my car!

Minimum wage is just that, minimum. It barely brings in enough to keep a roof over your head and food in your stomach! Utilities, clothing, transportation, all take a backseat to those two!"

"Was it really that bad Sookie?"

"It was Pam. When Gran was still alive we were barely making it with her small pension, the money from the oil company that kept coming in and my wages. When she died the pension ended leaving the small oil legacy and my wages. Let me tell you, minimum wage on part time hours does NOT get things paid! I'm just glad the house was mortgage free or I would never have been able to keep it without taking a second and third job! In Bon Temps those extra jobs just aren't there so I would have had to drive somewhere else.

You saw my car, you know it wouldn't have made too many trips to Monroe or Shreveport before it broke down.

I'm still paying off the hospital bill from when Renee attacked me back in July because I couldn't afford health insurance and Sam doesn't offer it!"

Pam plonked down in a chair and thought about what Sookie had just said. A plot was forming in her oh so devious mind!

She was starting to realize that it might not be such a grand idea to put Sookie into high end designer clothes right away, or at least not the high end price range she paid, so she went to the computer and did her research. She managed to find just what she was looking for right in New Orleans.


	2. Chapter 2

They left for New Orleans the next night, arriving with little time to spare for shopping. The night after, though? Pam had plans, big plans, all geared toward getting Sookie to accept the reality that in order to get good quality clothing that didn't fall apart after a few washes you had to spend a little more money which, bottom line, saved you money in the long run.

They rose, checked in with the area Sheriff (who just happened to be the Queen), fed and were on their way to a warehouse Pam had found online. They had discounted designer clothing, good quality replicas and vintage clothing which had survived the ravages of time BECAUSE it was good quality in the first place!

Sookie's eyes were HUGE when they entered the warehouse!

"Okay Sookie, our education starts now! You are going to teach me how to not spend so much money on clothing and I'm going to teach you how to shop and about how you really should shop for quality first, price second!"

When she saw the names of some of the designers she spluttered and balked, "I can't afford these things Pam!"

"Sookie! Yes, you can! First off Eric is paying. Second these may be designer clothes but they aren't full price! They even have vintage stuff here!"

"Eric is NOT paying for my clothes! If I don't have the money in my own account it will not be coming with us!

This is like a discount mall?"

Pam knew arguing with Sookie over who was paying would just end up making her more stubborn about it and nothing would be bought at all. She was under orders to buy what Sookie needed, and wanted, price was no object so she played the older sister card and shot off a quick text to Eric:

Pam: STUBBORN! :(  
Eric: $$$ ?  
Pam: yes!  
Eric: where?

Pam sent the name of the place where they were and shortly after she heard the phone ringing.

Eric: prob solved. let her spend what she's comfortable with. let associate know what is wanted and needed. she will do the usual.  
Pam: TY! am I included  
Eric: *eye roll* of course, I have to pay you for this some way, might as well do it all at the same time.  
Pam: good! you're right, of course, you DO have to pay me :D

They browsed to their heart's content, tried on clothes and picked out handbags and other accessories to go with what they did end up buying. Sookie was even SMILING when they left several hours after they entered! She had been able to buy more than she anticipated, given the designer names, so she felt like she had at least accomplished her goal of replacing some of her worn out clothes!

The next night wasn't as fun since it was shopping for clothes to wear at Fangtasia and she HATED the dress code for vampires there! Pam didn't much like it either but it was all about the cliché so they had to dress the part.

Finally they were on their way back home with the back of the cargo van full of bags and boxes!

Eric was there to greet them when they arrived, a smile on his face and a hug for each of them.

With the first load in her arms Sookie stepped into what was now her closet and she stopped dead in her tracks! It had been nearly empty when they left, it was nearly full now! She turned and glared at the two vampires behind her! "Pam! I told you if I couldn't afford it it wouldn't be bought so what's all this?!" She tilted her head toward all the clothes behind her.

"It's Eric playing the Maker card and me playing the big sister card. You looked great in most of the things you tried on so I texted Eric. The rest, as they say, is history!"

"In other words you both decided to go behind my back and arrange for all of this."

"Go behind your back, no. You should have been suspicious when I didn't argue with you when you got stubborn about letting Eric pay. I went over your head, not behind your back. There's a difference."

Sookie plopped down on the floor, dropping the packages she was carrying. "Do the two of you not trust me to know what I want and can afford?"

Eric knelt down in front of her and put his hands on her shoulders, "Sookie this isn't about not trusting you, this is about your Maker taking care of his child. You needed new clothes, now you have them. Why is it so hard for you to let someone else pay for things?"

"I've been independent since I was old enough to make my first dollar. I don't like spending money, never have. When you grow up without, at least in this day and age, you learn how to pinch pennies, how to make that dollar go further than you ever thought you could.

Having others pay for things is charity and I HATE feeling like I'm a charity case!"

"You're not a charity case Sookie. You have proved that many times over. Everyone needs a hand up sometimes. This is not a hand OUT, this is a hand UP. It's helping you with the necessities until you can afford to keep yourself in this new lifestyle.

Would you have been upset if your Gran or parents had bought you a new dress?"

"I guess not, they're family."

"Aren't we family?"

"Yeah." She was quiet as they finished bringing everything in.

She was thinking. Pride was a good thing, right? In a job well done, in being able to take care of yourself? Was it so wrong to want to provide for herself?

She was still thinking when day broke and stole her awareness for the day.

She rose still thinking.

Eric had been teaching her to use the computer so she decided to look up the definition of pride: _**a satisfied sense of attachment toward one's own or another's choices and actions, or toward a whole**_ _**group of people**__**, and is a product of praise, independent self-reflection, or a fulfilled feeling of belonging**_.

Okay, so she could own her own choices, she did get a sense of fulfillment in doing a job well. What's the opposite of pride? Humility? Hmmmmmm, did she think less of herself, that she wasn't as important as other people? Possibly.

Is there a negative definition for pride? Yes! Hubris or extreme arrogance! Did she overestimate her own competence and capabilities? Definitely! She had always told Bill she could protect herself! In normal circumstances she might stand a fighting chance but in the supernatural world? When she was a human playing at having a position in the supernatural world? No! That definition was enough to knock her down a peg or two!

Eric had felt her rise and her turmoil so he left her to figure out whatever was bothering her. She would come to him when she was ready, he just had to bide his time until then.

She did eventually seek him out to apologize. "Eric, I'm sorry about the way I acted last night. You were only doing what you thought was best.

In future could you at least maybe not go so overboard with things? I knew I needed new clothes and I was working on filling that closet."

"I will try, I can't promise though. You were a beautiful woman and you're an even more beautiful vampire, you deserve beautiful things, things which enhance your natural beauty, and I want you to have those things."

She sighed but nodded anyway. She knew he was just as stubborn as she was. Getting him to stop doing what he wanted to do wouldn't be easy, just like getting her to do what she didn't want to do wouldn't be easy. They would have to work at it together.

FIN

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**A/N: Definitions of pride, humility and hubris were taken from Wiki and the links therein.**


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